Even miracles take a little time... the canceled trip that finally happened! 9/7-9/14 2022

[MamaMouse0920]

Good morning and happy first day of fall, everyone!

We are officially home and settled after our wonderful 7 day trip to Disney World, and I can't wait to share all the amazing details in my very first Trip Report! Before we get started, I invite you to read my rambling thoughts and attempts at staying organized, which can be found in my Pre-Trip Report HERE. If you don't feel like reading (an unfortunate predicament, cause this TR is going to be a long one folks!) no worries, I am basically going to be copying/pasting the introductions and background info below. Apologies for the redundancy if you've been following along since the beginning! Feel free to skip this first posting and wait til I get to the good stuff in my next update.


That's me, Bethany! I'm 30 years old, and work at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I went to school for Physical Therapy (which is where I met my DH!) but sadly the pandemic (+ one surprise pregnancy.. looking at you DS2!) had other plans for my future and I now facilitate the onboarding of Residents & Fellows entering the VA. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom, my favorite Disney character is Olaf but my favorite princess is Belle. I'm sarcastic and LOVE witty banter. I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy, and a matching potty mouth. I am a HUGE planner, very Type A, and love carbs & coffee.


That handsome fella on the right is my DH, Matt. He is about to turn 40 (read: OLD) and is the love of my life. We met 10 years ago in college- I walked up to him one day, introduced myself and the rest is history. We moved in together after 2 months of dating, got engaged after 11 months, and were married the following year. We share a love for Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Minnesota Vikings, and now our 2 perfect kids. Prior to this trip, he had only been to WDW once when he was around 10, and doesn't remember much of the trip at all. His favorite Disney movie is Ratatouille & his favorite princess is Merida. Side note: see that super cool looking robot between us? That is called a ReWalk and it is a robotic walking device intended to allow paralyzed individuals the ability to walk again. Pretty cool, huh? We worked on a research study at the VA together for 3 years and in this picture, we're showing it off at the Minnesota State Fair in 2018 (yes- me large & in charge about 7 months pregnant at the time. This time looking at you, DD3!).


Which brings us to our DD3 and DS2. They are sweet, silly, & wild- an inseparable pair of giggling maniacs! But they are truly the light of our lives and are as big of Disney fans as they come. Every birthday party and Halloween is centered around Disney, and we do weekly themed "dinner & a movie" nights, all of which are Disney movies. They both change their mind more than they change their underwear (diapers, for DS2, but you get it), but DD3's current favorite movie is Mulan & DS2's is Monster's Inc. Character wise, DD3 loves Princess Belle and DS2 loves Buzz and Elsa.


Also joining us on this trip is my MIL & FIL . They are 74 (MIL) & 82 (FIL), retired snowbirds who split their time in MN & FL (Ft. Myers area). They aren't big Disney fans BUT I suppose more importantly they are huge fans of our kids and came along just for that reason. Prior to the trip, they said they weren't planning to ride any rides, but they in fact did join us on the 'no height requirement' attractions and MIL even partook on Barnstormer, LOL! Even after the trip I'm not sure they could list a favorite character, but they both LOVED the Little Mermaid ride, so we'll go with Ariel

Now, for the obligatory "what" "when" "where" and "why".

• What: 5 park days. No Park Hopper. 2 rest days for the kids & in-laws (Matt & I took one park day to ourselves as a day-date!). Memory Maker & Genie+ purchased ahead of time (for all 5 days, prior to the change).
• When: September 7th-14th, 2022. Schools are back in session and our kids aren’t school age yet so we chose this time hoping that crowds would be low. Luckily, we were right!
• Where: Stayed offsite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (needed the space for 2 rambunctious toddlers & 80 year old in-laws). It. Was. AMAZING. 10000/10 recommend!
• Why: This seems like the silliest of all the bullet points. Does one ever need a reason to visit Mickey & his pals?! Me thinks no, but I will humor all of you anyway. We were initially supposed to go September 2021. My husband and I, working for the government in a hospital were among the first to be vaccinated back in December 2020. Our kids were obviously too young to get the vaxx, but cases were looking good when we booked and we were feeling somewhat ready to bring our kids back into the world. In a way, they both are COVID babies (DS2 is the definition of a COVID baby, since he was born in the thick of it- May 2020, but even DD3 has lived a pretty sheltered life since she was only a little over 1yo when the world shut down) and as a result have not explored much of the world. The month before COVID (Dec 2019) we were able to take just DD3 (I was about 4 months pregnant with DS2 at the time) on her first vacation- to good ol’ Florida. Not Orlando, but Sanibel Island where I spent a lot of my summers as a child/teen. See, Florida holds a special place in both mine & my DH hearts. For him, it is because he used to live there when he was in his early 20’s (Ft Myers Beach area). He didn’t go the typical college route, and instead on quite a whim decided to just up and move to Florida after a friend bet he wouldn’t. Single, young, no real responsibilities… why not?! He moved home about 3 years later after 3 family members pass away in quick succession and felt he needed to be home with his parents. For me, Florida has always felt like home. My grandma lived in Orlando (has since moved further south, but is still in FL), worked for Northwest (now Delta) Airlines, and even had a part time job working at The Disney Store in the airport. So, seeing as we stayed for free, flew for basically free, and got into WDW at a discounted rate… My mom, being the absolute saint that she is, brought me and my 3 younger siblings to Florida, including WDW, probably 5-7 times a year. I grew up at Disney World, quite literally. Aside from Disney trips, we’ve done countless stays on Sanibel Island, trips to the Everglades and the Keys, Daytona/Cocoa Beach, cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale… pretty much everywhere except Miami (I would love to go!). Since turning into a grown-up (10/10 do NOT recommend, by the way), I’ve still made at least yearly trips to Florida, but prior to this trip I had not been to Disney in almost 15 years. So, this trip was not only my first time back in over a decade, but my first time as an adult and even more importantly – as a mom! Of course there have been MASSIVE changes, but I did my research (remember, Type A mega planner) & there aren't enough words to express how amazing it was to return "home", and to be able to pass along the magic of Disney to my sweet babies.

Anyway, WOW I’ve gone off topic here. The point I was trying to make is that we were SUPPOSED to visit the castle in September of 2021. COVID numbers were looking halfway decent, we were feeling like the pandemic was finally at an end (HA! Jokes on us) and we figured why not? We love to travel and our poor, sheltered kids were way overdue to join us. Then, a few short months later, the Delta variant reared its ugly head. Orlando was the epicenter. We watched the cases in Orange County go up, and up, and up. By the thousands. We could not justify bringing our unvaccinated kids, or our at-risk elderly parents, there. So, after LOTS of soul searching, LOTS of phone calls, LOTS of tears (seriously, lots of tears), we made the gut-wrenching decision to postpone. In a sick, twisted turn of events, we all 4 ended up with COVID the entire month of November 2021 anyway, so in hindsight we should have just gone and not lost out on all that money ☹ It was not funny at the time, and DD3 was very sick and nearly hospitalized after countless doctors visits, needle pokes, chest x-rays, 14 days of being very sick, with 7 straight days of a high fever, but we can look back and shake our heads chuckling at the irony. We opted to nix our trip to the Happiest Place on Earth to avoid the ‘vid, and then ended up getting it from our daycare provider less than 2 months later. Sigh. That’s life for ya!

Up next: Day 0 - travel day!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/7/2022 - Travel/Arrival Day!

The night before we left was just like any other day - we made dinner, cleaned up, gave the kids a bath, and put the final sticker on our Disney Countdown. The kids were so excited! DD3 even got to have her nails done, something she asks for ALL. THE. TIME. I often turn her down (mean mom, I know) because homegirl can't sit still long enough for the nail polish to dry and it always gets smudged and as a result I have nail polish smears all over my bathroom.... but for this special occasion, she got her fingers & toes painted- complete with glitter & Mickey Mouse decals! We fancy.

I didn't get a picture of DD3's, but here are mine & aside from the poor lighting & obvious amateur/messy look, I really like the way they turned out!!



We tried to keep the kids up a little later that night and wake them up a little earlier than usual the next morning in the hopes that they would be tired for our 10am flight. Spoiler alert, it made zero difference & the kids were wide awake the whole plane ride. Like this, but without the Mountain Dew.

Even though my alarm was set for 6:00am, I woke up around 4:30am in a panic - immediately checking my email and the Delta app to see if there was an alert about our flights being canceled or delayed. Thankfully, there were none! I didn't even bother to go back to sleep (too excited!) so I resigned to taking advantage of the peace & quiet of a sleeping house. I made sure the house was ready for us to go and prepared all the snacks for the plane. I quietly brought all the luggage downstairs and did another once-over, making sure we didn't forget anything. Eventually I got myself ready, and at 6:30am I went in to wake the kids up. I woke them all up with an excited "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD GUYS!!!!" and I think that is the first and only morning in their lives that they have gotten up, dressed, teeth & hair brushed without a fight

My parents live about 3 minutes away from us and my mom graciously offered to take us to the airport that morning on her way to work. She picked us up at 7:30am and after loading up the van we were on our way! We got to the airport right away (it's only a 15 minute drive from the suburb we live in to MSP), and grandma entertained the kids by helping them climb up on these giant ball things while Matt & I un-installed their car seats from the van and got everything all set up for the trek through the airport.



We had one carry on suitcase, 2 backpacks, a small lunchbox full of snacks (attached to my backpack in picture below), 4 empty stainless steel water bottles, DD3 had her little traveling backpack, and then I also had my small Minnie backpack which I was hoping DS2 would carry.... but that did not happen so I ended up with that as well We also had the two kids' car seats since obviously we would need them for the rental van. Needless to say, navigating the airport with the aforementioned luggage, 2 car seats, 2 toddlers, 2 stuffed animals the kids insisted on bringing & little sleep was not very fun but we made it work! Before saying goodbye, grandma snapped this family photo on her very old iPhone (I think it's a 7! ) but I love it nonetheless.


After somehow making it through security (we almost left without our car seats!), we passed one of those large golf-cart looking things that you see whizzing past you in the airport. DS2 asked if we could ride it, to which I replied "no, that's not for us. I wish it was though!". The driver overheard us and told us to hop on. It was our first "ride" of the trip! It was such a nice surprise, and a huge help since our gate ended up being one of the further ones away.



Once we were settled at the gate, Matt went to get us coffee & breakfast. The closest fast food place was Chick Fil A so we got a couple things of nuggets & hash browns which we all happily shared as we waited to board. Just as we were finishing up, they started calling for early boarding. This is the system we've come up with for traveling with kids: DH takes advantage of the early boarding "for those who need a little extra time" and installs the car seats & wipes down our area. This way he doesn't have the pressure of trying to install car seats while someone impatiently waits for their seat & holds up the entire line of traffic. I stay behind at the gate with both kids, using this time to get DS2's diaper changed & take DD3 to the restroom one last time before boarding. I usually wait & try to be one of the last people on the plane (for the sake of the kids as well as our surrounding passengers- why force the kids to be stuck in that metal tube for any longer than necessary?!). As we got to our seats (DH + DS2 on one side of the aisle, me + DD3 on the other side of the aisle), Matt informs me that they made him check our carry on. What!! He was among the first passengers on the plane, you can't tell me there already wasn't room in any of the overhead storage.... the whole point of NOT bringing a checked bag was to avoid needing to mess around with the baggage claim at MCO at all! Plus, since I knew we would have it with us, I packed our "emergency" clothes in case of puke or spills in that carry on.. guess I wouldn't have that as a back-up option anymore! Sigh. Oh well, nothing we could do about it now- our little carry on was likely already on its way down to the belly of the plane.

The flight was mostly uneventful, neither kid slept but both were pretty good all things considered. I definitely had the better deal with the seating arrangements though, since DS2 is prone to motion sickness and we (Matt) opted to skip the Dramamine ("he won't need it") prior to the flight.

Toward the end of the flight they announced there would be turbulence- and actually they made it sound sort of scary, the way they told the flight attendants to stop what they're doing and sit down immediately but there ended up being none. DS2 started saying his tummy hurt and Matt got the puke bag out and was ready but never ended up needing it. Still stressful though.. being on high-alert and ready for chunks can be draining.

We debarked the plane (yay, Florida!) and headed toward baggage claim. We took the "fake-o-rail" which was exciting for them even though we were in a middle car and the kids couldn't really see anything. I remember being a kid and feeling like the happiest kid in the world when I got to be in the first car, seated on the little bench thing and feeling like I was flying. MCO is one of my favorite airports- just for the nostalgia factor!

As we approach the carousel around 2:15 FL time, I realize that DD3 had not peed since she woke up at 6:30am!!! I changed DS2's diaper at the gate but forgot to take DD3 (and myself obviously) to the restroom! I immediately rush her to the restroom in baggage claim where she had a minor meltdown not wanting to go (she is afraid of public restrooms/loud automatic flushing toilets) but eventually she went & I send a quick "thank you" to the bladder gods for not having her 1) have an accident on the plane and 2) hopefully not cause a UTI from holding it in so long. As we get out of the restroom, Matt had collected our suitcase but I can see he is visibly upset. Turns out his parents couldn't find the Orlando airport.... It took almost 2 hours (I am not kidding) of Matt talking them through Apple Maps, trying to ascertain where they were and giving them step by step instructions to get them to us. We texted them the address, we sent them pins of our location, we told them "follow the three thousand signs that say 'Orlando International Airport'" but nothing worked. Come to find out later, Matt's mom had somehow uninstalled Apple Maps, so all the pins & addresses we sent them were useless. They were getting irate with him (lots of swearing and hang ups) as though it was his fault, he was getting frustrated with them, and I think (though Matt would hesitate to admit it) we were starting to get concerns about the safety of their driving. I was doing my best to stay calm, and since the kids were getting restless outside in the muggy heat I decided to take them back inside to an empty carousel and let them stretch their legs and play with the toys I had packed in my backpack while Matt talked them through getting to the airport. Since this took nearly 2 hours as I mentioned, I used this time to make sure our Park Reservations were how we wanted them, as well as finalized my Canva phone wallpapers for the rest of the trip (see Pre-Trip Report for more info on those )

When they finally found the airport and we loaded our stuff in the van, the kids were excited to see their grandparents but all the adults were terse. It didn't take long after driving away that the kids finally fell asleep- it was about 4:30pm FL time, so they were long overdue for a nap.

Because of the huge delay getting picked up, shortly after starting the 30 minute drive from MCO to the hotel I received a text that our Walmart grocery delivery was 4 miles away from the resort. UH OH! I immediately called the driver to explain our situation, but unfortunately he didn't speak English. He did manage to get across to me that I could text him & it would translate, so we hung up and I tried that... however it automatically kicked back saying I could not text this number. I called Wyndham asking if they could accept our groceries on our behalf until we got there in 20 mins (it had to be signed for since we had ordered beer), but they said no. So we were panicking. I was already upset about being 2 hours late, and the idea of our raw chicken sitting outside in 93 degree temps (or worse- going back to Walmart and not having anything to eat!) was about to be the straw that broke the camels back. Despite everything, I remained calm as Matt & I talked through what we were going to do. I got a call from Walmart (not the driver) saying that our delivery was ready for us outside our resort- so I explained the situation to him. He was very nice! He said that he would relay this information to the driver (they must have translators). He called me back a few minutes later and said that the driver was fine with waiting and told me what kind of car he was driving so we could look for him. We flew there & finally met him - apologizing PROFUSELY for our tardiness! I ran to check in while bellhop services took our groceries & luggage.

After waiting in a small line, it was my turn to approach the Check In desk. I had been forewarned (with this being a Timeshare and all) that they pester you about the presentation not immediately at check in, but afterward when they send you to a special little desk to get a parking permit. Being armed with this information, I knew I would avoid that little desk since I hate confrontation and am such a people pleaser that I would be uncomfortable telling them no. Not that I wouldn't do it (trust me, I am well aware how awful Timeshares can be), but I just hate the awkwardness. Matt joined me about halfway through the check in process (the kids still in the car with their grandparents) and as we were wrapping up the guy told me that we will be issued wristbands which are our room keys and get us into all the amenities like the pools, and to "head over to that desk over there to get your wristbands". Sigh- that seems pretty unavoidable. So we leave the check in desk, me trying to silently communicate with my eyes to Matt about what was about to happen so we'd be on the same page.

We begrudgingly make our way over to the special desk and of course the kid (I say kid and mean it, he couldn't have been older than 19!) is super nice and charismatic. Him & Matt strike up a lengthy conversation about their Fantasy Football drafts and I'm ready to kick Matt because we have toddlers, crabby in-laws, and melting groceries waiting for us. The kid tried to offer us a "brief" 30 min presentation but we nipped it in the bud - if not verbally then definitely with my body language since I already had one foot out that door and it was probably very apparent by my brevity in conversation that I was needing to go PRONTO.

We finally get our room number & wristbands and hauled *** to get to our room (tower 6 - room 6219 on the second floor). We get there, but no bellhop with our luggage or groceries! Now I'm really thinking that we will need to throw away that raw chicken, pork chops, sausage, milk/cheese/yogurt/deli meat etc since it's been over an hour and a half since it was left the coolers of Walmart. While we wait for it to be delivered to our room, we explore our new home for the next week. It was a BEAUTIFUL suite- when you enter the room you are technically in the "dining room", where it had a huge, very nice looking 8 person table. From there was the kitchen, complete with everything you would need - a stove/oven/microwave/fridge/dishwasher, all the pots/pans/cutlery/dishes you would need, a coffee maker, a blender, wash cloths, sponges, dish soap, hand towels, everything. From the kitchen you could overlook the living room, which had a nice size couch (I believe it is a hide-a-bed) and another chair, with a coffee table. This connected to the patio which contained 2 chairs and a small table and overlooked the pirate themed pool. And to the left of that was the "Master Bedroom", which had a connecting bathroom. Turning right from entering the front door was the in-unit laundry (hidden in a little closet), the 2nd bedroom as well as the second bathroom. There was some noted bitterness when it became apparent that Matt, myself, and the two kids would be taking the "master" bedroom which contained 1 king, and that the in-laws would be taking the second bedroom, which contained 2 full size beds.. Though I don't think anyone reading this would question why I thought that would be the better fit for the situation... Both rooms had their own bathrooms, so I really didn't understand why she was upset by this but I chose not to say engage in it- nor did I concede and switch rooms.

When the luggage/groceries arrive, I am delighted to discover that thankfully, it's all still cold! I'm not sure if bell services has a fridge or something?? But either way the food was fine and we didn't get food poisoning so I am happy! The bellhop was SO unbelievably nice, even helped us unload our groceries instead of just handing us the bags and going. Shortly after he left, I realized we had rented a double stroller & a scooter (for FIL) that should have been dropped off at the resort this morning, and we forgot to grab it when we were downstairs! So we called down to confirm it was there... but they didn't have it. They looked again and again over the course of 30 minutes & finally found the scooter, but no stroller. What?! I called the rental company, Kingdom Strollers, in a panic. They got back to me within 20 minutes and said that traffic was bad but that it would be dropped off within the hour. Later that night, I got both texts and phone calls from them, all apologizing repeatedly. I told them no big deal, we were just glad to have the stroller! An hour later Matt ran down to get the stroller (FIL+MIL had volunteered earlier to get the scooter- I think desperate already for a break from us and the kids... not a good omen for the remaining 7 days!). By this time, the kids were acting crazy and we were all starving. We hadn't really eaten, aside from airplane snacks, since the ChickFilA nuggets that morning. The initial plan was to arrive to the hotel around 2:45pm and swim then grill chicken on one of the resorts community grills. However by this time it was already 7pm so my MIL just cooked the chicken breasts on the stove, and the kids didn't get to go swimming at all We ate, the kids watched a movie (Minions) while Matt & I scrambled to get everything ready for the next day which was our first park day- Magic Kingdom! We assembled the stroller, unpacked our clothes, did food prep (sliced cucumbers & carrots & apples, divvied up ziploc baggies of cheerios, craisins, pretzels, goldfish, dehydrated fruit, etc.), readied our park bags, charged all our portable fans, and laid out our clothes for the next day. The kids didn't get to bed until close to 9pm (8pm our time) and I stayed until 11:30pm getting everything organized and ready. #momlife amiright?!

Overall it turned out to be a pretty stressful travel day once we arrived in Florida, but I'm very proud of Matt & I for not fighting with each other (I think I speak for all married couples when I say it is super easy to take out your frustrations on your SO- even when you full well know that none of it is their fault), and that we were just happy to be on vacation together. We couldn't wait for the next day, and I don't think I fell asleep until after midnight, even though my alarm was set for 5:30am! Too excited to finally walk down Main Street again!

TOTAL STEPS: 13,442

Up next: Park Day 1- Magic Kingdom!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Wellllp.. this is awkward.

I'm just realizing I put this in "completed trip reports" and mine is just getting started...... anyone know how to move a thread? Or is it not that big of a deal? Help! I'm a rule follower!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/8/22 - Park Day 1 (Magic Kingdom!)

With my alarm set for 5:30am, I woke up and flew out of bed (well maybe not flew, but it sure is easier to wake up early when you're heading to Disney World!), got ready & woke Matt up. The whole trip we tried to let the kids sleep in as much as possible so we would make sure that Matt & I were fully dressed & ready before waking them. This not only helped by offering their little bodies as much rest as time would allow, but also made for a smoother 'getting ready' routine, since DH and I could divide & conquer- he takes a kid, I take a kid, and we're done in half the time. After all 4 of us were ready (in-laws were on their own half of the suite and doing their own thing getting ready), I got the kids seated at the dining table to get a light breakfast in them (MIL had made & brought muffins and waffles, so those were our most common breakfasts before heading to the parks each day) then Matt & I ran down to the car to figure out the Tetris game of fitting all our stuff in the trunk. If you're keeping track, in one minivan we needed to fit:
- 1 ECV
- 1 double stroller
- everything that goes IN/ON the stroller & scooter (backpacks & bags galore- water bottles & ponchos and fans, snacks & frozen water bottles, cooling towels & knickknacks to entertain the kids in the event of long lines, sunscreen, extra outfits in case of spills/accidents, diapers & wipes, ears and sunglasses and hats.... literally everything but the kitchen sink, it felt like)

Matt was stressed about this because at first glance it did NOT appear that this was going to work, but somehow we managed to figure it out. What ended up working was putting one of the three backrow seats down, then taking apart the ECV. The basket was removable so we needed to take that off, take the seat & handles completely off, then spin the little knob that loosened the steering column (this didn't come off, but did fold down) and collapse that down onto the base. Matt and I then lifted (that thing was HEAVY!) the base + steering column into the trunk itself. Then we would collapse the double stroller and strategically place that on top of the ECV base. Once those two items were securely placed in the trunk, we could fill in available space with the seat + armrests of the scooter (this usually went on the folded-down seat from the third row), the basket, and our large backpacks. What didn't fit in the trunk then went on the floor of the van.

After winning that game of Tetris, we headed back into the lobby of the hotel to fill our water bottles with ice & then top off with water. At 6:58am, I happened to glance at my phone and realized: "HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL, I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT LIGHTNING LANE SELECTIONS!" I panicked!! Like literally my hands were shaking as I quickly edited my selections to show only Peter Pan (why that ride is so popular/hard to get is completely beyond me to be honest) and by the time I did that it was 7:00am. I hit refresh, and secured a LL for 9:40 (official park opening was 9:00am). Because I was hidden away in a little corner of the hotel where the ice/vending machines were, I had crappy service & as a result it took a little bit of time to load each step, but I was still very happy with my luck!

A little after 7am, Matt & I returned to the room to gather the kids & the grandparents and head down to the car. There were lots of negative comments (a theme throughout the trip) that I overpacked, and I even got made fun of for my Mickey ears but you know this Disney obsessed mama let it roll right off her back! We left a little later than I intended, maybe 15 minutes later? But I was thrilled to be on our way to my happy place. After a short 10-15 minute drive, we arrive to the Magic Kingdom parking lot!!! I am almost in tears by this point, I am so excited!! As we pull up to the parking attendant who collects the $$, more negative comments were made about the price to park ($25). Keeping in mind that this information has been discussed for the last 2 years, none of this is new information... I'm not sure why the negativity continues but alas, it does. We paid & went to find the handicap parking which is literally right next to the entrance so that was super nice! We then had to reverse Tetris take everything out of the trunk, reassemble the ECV, unload the stroller from the van, then load the stroller with all our stuff (& kids, obviously). Thinking I knew about the security/bag check process (turns out I didn't, as they varied COMPLETELY day to day, park to park, even hour to hour) I purposefully did not put any bags in the stroller. I carried them all (seriously, like 7), with MIL carrying her single backpack. The CM directed Matt & FIL to the ECV/stroller lane, and MIL and I to the bag check line. MIL just walked right through, not stopping to have her backpack checked. I'm not sure how or why, but no one stopped her. Once I was through getting all of my bags checked (they are pretty speedy so it's not a huge time-sucker), she commented "weird how they only want to look through some bags and didn't care about mine!" I said "well, no, they told you to get in the same line I was in but you didn't". She argued that he told her to go straight through without having her backpack checked. Another theme for the trip: I chose to not engage and argue with her. We were through security and that's all that mattered.

We decided to take the ferry since it seemed easier with the stroller & scooter, plus more COVID safe. I wasn't sure if it was "first on last off" or what so even though we were one of the first people on the ship we didn't go straight to the very front (there were people who ran to get to the front though, so that should have tipped me off that it is first on, first off), and instead parked ourselves off to the side. Every ferry ride after that, if we were the first ones on we made our way to the front so we could hurry off as soon as it was at port. Another mistake we made on that first day that we learned & changed our plan the subsequent days: we should have used the lengthy waiting around time (waiting for the ferry to fill up, waiting for it to leave, the ride to MK, the process to dock, etc.) to apply sunscreen. Instead we just stood there, thinking we'd be taking off any second so why get started now? The ferry left at 8:20am.

Once we got to Magic Kingdom we entered via our Magic Bands with no problems (me using my finger to pair with DD3's Magic Band). We were finally walking down Main Street!!

The kids kept pointing out all the pumpkins - they were amazed with all the fall decor They cared more about those than the castle!!! Whose kids are these?!

We stopped at a PhotoPass Photographer to get our picture taken in front of the castle but they turned out poorly. Not the photographers fault, but DD3's hat was covering her entire face, and we all just looked awful. I had straightened my hair and after not even an hour it was already frizzy & wavy (again, obviously not the photographers fault!) but I honestly didn't even save it when it showed up in my Memory Maker photos- just bad! Plus I felt awkward when I asked for a photo with just me, DH & our kids without the in-laws... I don't think that's so out-of-this-world to ask for but I could tell there was resentment from MIL. Matt did snap this one pic of me & DS2 though that isn't as bad as the PhotoPass picture, but you can see what I mean about the hair! That was the first and only day I ever left my hair down- every day following this one you will find it up in a ponytail


It was now after 8:30am (which was the Disney+ Day early entry for subscribers) and we were stopped twice by two separate CM asking for proof of Disney+ subscription. All I had to do was pull up the app and show them the home page, and they let us through. The second one took a little bit of time since I wasn't prepared, but once we were through we made our way over to Adventureland. Our first ride was Jungle Cruise, which had a posted wait time of 15 mins but it was a walk on (every picture we took was, as a result, blurry since we were trying to walk quickly through the queue!). Matt & I pointed out all the fun details to the kids as we walked by.

They LOVED the little caged tarantula that jumps and moves - so did the adults nearby! It was quite funny hearing their squeals and giggles each time he jumped. Keeping with the theme of bad pictures, I snapped this beauty as we walked through the queue:

Sigh. Maybe someday we'll learn how to take a nice picture! I think DD3 was already a little overwhelmed by everything going on. The crowds were low by Disney standards but still there. I think maybe Disney+ Day drew in some more people? It also was not a MNSSHP day so that could account for some higher crowds. We got on our boat a little before 9am and our skipper was funny- we had a great trek. After Jungle Cruise we headed to Fantasyland via the shortcut near the Pirates bathrooms. FIL already had to go to the bathroom so I took DD3 to be safe. While waiting for FIL (he is very slow moving and we had to wait for him often), I used this time to apply sunscreen. It was super cloudy, but we know enough about the Florida sun to not let that fool us into thinking we didn't need sunscreen. I'm actually quite proud to say that not one of us had ANY sunburn throughout the entire trip. Matt & I, impressed with our parenting win:

Sunscreen applied, we headed to redeem our LL for Peter Pan. Because of the route we entered Fantasyland, we actually passed Peter Pan to get to where we needed to park our stroller (by the Carousel). We left MIL & FIL at the ride entrance, showing them where they could park the ECV, and walked over to the carousel to park our stroller. When the 4 of us returned to the scooter parking, MIL & FIL were nowhere to be found. We then realized we hadn't told them (or reminded them, I should say) how Lightning Lanes & Magic Bands work... so we assumed they went in the standby lane without us. We tapped into our LL (I was kind of trying to hurry so I could book our next LL, plus I hate hate HATE the idea of slowing down a queue) while Matt called them. They said they didn't know where Peter Pan was....??? They had not entered the standby lane, but I have NO idea where they had gone. Matt quickly tried talking them through entering the Lightning Lane. At that point- it was time to get on our ship- we had to ride without them. The kids seemed a little afraid at first, but eventually came to enjoy it. After we got off and met up with MIL & FIL, they squabbled a bit with Matt about the confusion but DD3 had her heart set on riding the carousel (since seeing it when we parked the stroller), so we nipped the argument in the bud and headed that way. The 4 of us arrived at the entrance to the line, only to look behind us and realize they once again had disappeared. We hovered awkwardly near the entrance to the queue, waiting for FIL & MIL to join us. Once they did, my FIL made a comment that he was going to ride his own horse. Horrified & quite honestly thinking he was joking, I laughed and replied "no you're not!!" He said "I may be old but I'm still pretty limber!" and sure enough, his 82 year old self managed to climb on a horse a few rows ahead of us and I think he had a blast!





After the ride was over, FIL got stuck trying to get down and Matt & MIL had to go and help him. This was one instance of many where in the moment I was frustrated (I'm thinking "I told you so!" and annoyed that 1) he could have been badly hurt and 2) it is an inconvenience to the CM who has to wait to let the new batch of riders on until everyone gets off) but upon thinking about it later I shouldn't have been. I really was trying hard this trip to not let anything bother me and take away from the magic I wanted my kids to experience, but in the moment it is hard! I just wanted everything to be perfect for everyone and truly I think I put a little too much pressure on myself.

Anyway, after the carousel the kids were hungry & everyone was already feeling the effects of the heat (even though it was barely 10am), so we stopped into Cosmic Rays. Now that I'm typing this out, I can NOT for the life of me figure out why we picked there? It was not exactly nearby, and I know I wanted to get the kids on Barnstormer to test out their first roller coaster experience before moving on to any of the bigger rides... but alas, Cosmic Rays is where we ended up. Unfortunately, it wasn't even open (to ordering food, that is. We could sit in there and enjoy the AC, but could not order food). I really wanted to try one of the Nutella waffles so we left the kids to cool down with their grandparents and Matt & I went to get one. I'm not sure how/why I thought that Sleepy Hollow was in Fantasyland- it's not! It's in Liberty Square! We ran over there and the line was crazy so we abandoned our waffle quest and ran back to Cosmic Rays. It was 10:30 by that point, so we ordered a cheeseburger & kids chicken tender meal to share. Despite their claim of being hungry, the kids only ate the fries & the apple slices that came with the kids meal, so Matt & I shared the rest. Feeling cooled down & refueled, we headed over to Barnstormer. We had been measuring the kids at home without shoes on, DS2 measuring at 36" and DD3 at 42.5" so we felt confident that he would be able to ride, but still you truly just don't know until you get there. Fortunately, he was tall enough & bonked his head on the measuring stick so we were happy he got to ride with us! At 11:00am, DD3 & DS2 rode their first ever roller coasters and LOVED it. DH was with DS2 and I rode with DD3. We both took videos of their ride, and it is the most adorable thing ever. I can't seem to figure out how to attach it here, anyone have any insight??

Regardless, I've maxed out the allowed pictures for one post so I'll end here!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/8/22 - Park Day 1 (Magic Kingdom!) - continued

Where we last left off, both kids got to ride the Barnstormer (still can't figure out how to share a video!) for their first ever roller coasters. And they both LOVED it- which I am so happy about! I am a big roller coaster/ride lover and Matt used to be but the last few years they've started to make him sick so he isn't a big fan anymore, so I'm super glad that I have 2 kids who so far seem to love them as much as their mama! Yay for ride buddies! Immediately after Barnstormer we headed to Dumbo since it's right next door. Matt wanted DS2 to ride with MIL & FIL which if I'm being honest made me a tad nervous- he is SO squirmy and is an escape artist but MIL said they would make sure he was secure. So DD3 rode with me & Matt, while DS2 rode in an elephant with MIL & FIL. They were exactly opposite of us so we could see them the whole time- DS2 had a blast! It was adorable getting to see his excited face from across the ride.


After getting off Dumbo, we decided to head over to Little Mermaid and it wasn't until we were in line (around 11:35am) that I realized we needed to be at the Harmony Barber Shop in 25 minutes! We were on the ride at 11:45 (this time DD3 with the in laws and DS2 with us). It broke down briefly (ironically we stopped right in front of Ursula, so it was perfect when Sebastian came on saying that we were broken down and that it was probably that pesky Sea Witch who was to blame ) it was back up and running pretty quickly, but after that I told Matt that we will have to power walk to get to Main Street and that I didn't know what we were going to do about his parents since they would definitely not be able to keep up. We agreed that we just needed to get the kids to the Barbershop for their appointment, and that his parents could meet us there and they could take their time to get there. While walking off the ride, I quickly explained to them what the problem was and how we needed to get there quickly for fear that we would miss our (highly coveted, difficult to get) appointment, and I told them exactly where it was but I think they were thinking of the issue with Peter Pan and didn't trust that they'd be able to find us so they just did their best to keep up. Matt's mom looked close to falling several times since she was nearly running to keep up but thankfully she made it okay. I felt bad that they had to race but I wish they had taken us up on our offer to split up! To make matters worse, I had inadvertently scheduled the haircuts for the exact time of the parade... you know, the parade ON MAIN STREET which is where we were trying to get! Oops! So not only were we running late, but we were battling parade crowds too. We made it JUST in time, whew!! The ladies in the salon were so sweet- DD3 and DS2 both got their haircuts at the same time, despite technically their appointments being scheduled 20 minutes apart. This was DD3's first EVER haircut however I did not anticipate her being scared at all.. she had been with DS2 for his haircuts in the past (this was his 3rd or 4th I believe, so not too special for him but we figured with his sister getting her haircut at the Most Magical Place on Earth, why shouldn't he? Plus it was $1 cheaper than the local kids salon at home, so I figured what the heck) and she had seen him sit there calmly and get his haircut.. but there was a baby (maybe 8 or 9 months old?) getting his first haircut and was NOT happy about it, poor thing was screaming uncontrollably! I think witnessing this was starting to get to her and she became a little tearful. The salon ladies however are absolute pros and immediately whipped out their arsenal of tools at the ready to keep kids happy- first bubbles, then a light up spinning Elsa toy which was a hit with DD3!

Not to be left out, DS2 also was given a spinning Buzz toy even though he wasn't crying or upset at all and let me tell you, he was OBSESSED with that Buzz toy.

Side note, I had that same exact spinning Buzz toy secretly packed in the bottom of the stroller basket at that very moment. It was mine (or one of my siblings) from growing up and visiting WDW! Crazy that it was still in circulation all these years later. I'm thankful my mom had the foresight to keep it, and that I could pass it along to my own kids years later! I had it stashed away in the event of an emergency meltdown, but after seeing his face light up in the barbershop I decided to just give it to them later that day.


First haircut COMPLETE, she was given her very own set of Mickey Ears ("my 1st haircut" embroidered on the back!) & we happily paid (with a very generous tip for both those wonderful ladies since we were so thrilled with the entire experience) and then headed outside to watch the last few minutes of the parade.

I forgot to mention, the accidental timing of my scheduling the haircuts for the same time as the parade actually ended up being a really good call, because the barbershop windows face out to where the parade ends. So the kids had the best seats in the house to view it! They were in the AC, being pampered (lol), and sitting on a nice cushy barbershop seat while the rest of the peasants had to sit outside in the 95 degree sun while sitting on a hard curb. Ha! So, what was once a "doh!" mistake, turned into a secret Disney "hack". Schedule the haircuts for 12:20 if you want a great seat for the parade! Follow me for more Disney mistakes hacks. This was the kids first time seeing Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and a few others "face to face" and it was perfect!

After the parade was over, we headed to the monorail to get over to the Contemporary for our 1:35 lunch ADR at Steakhouse 71. This was our first go on the monorail since we had taken the ferry that morning - so we were a little unsure of the process with an ECV. We let the CM know at the top of the ramp that we had a scooter and they had us wait in a specific spot. While waiting, we met two twin female CM who just loved chatting with FIL. They were so funny and thought he was just a hoot! They were 53 (and a half, which I know because DD3 loudly informed them "I'm 3 and a half!" to which they replied they were 53 and a half ) and had been working there for the last 28 years, always together. It was really fun chatting with them! If you're ever at MK look out for our friends- I want to say their names were Lynette & Jeanette. We visited with them a few times over the course of the week each time more pleasant than the last.

Once the monorail arrived, they placed a ramp down on the open monorail & FIL drove right up into the car. Matt would then push the stroller up the ramp, though I think technically he's not supposed to do this (at least, I don't see them doling out the ramp for other parents with strollers, so they must be expected to just lift it up the 6" gap between monorail & monorail station), but he did it all week without getting told to stop. It took us a few tries to get the perfect balance figured out, but we eventually discovered just how far forward FIL would have to drive his scooter so that the stroller would fit just behind it. The CM at MK must then communicate with the CM at the Contemporary, because they knew exactly which car of the monorail needed the ramp and had it ready when we arrived. We were about 45 minutes early to our ADR, but I checked in anyway and they said they would let us know if our table became ready early but she didn't seem too confident that we would be seated any time soon. Due to this, I told the troops to get comfy and that I would use this time to reorganize our stroller since it was looking like a tornado had hit it. As soon as everyone sat down, I got the text that our table was ready!

When I booked this ADR 60 days prior, I specifically picked the time because I was hoping both kids would be napping peacefully in the stroller, and the 4 adults could have a leisurely lunch, sipping cocktails and laughing modestly, reveling in the absolute delight of what a perfect day it had been, gazing with complete adoration at our angelic babies sleeping faces................................................................................. to which my kids said:

Of course that didn't happen, and instead it was chaos. DS2 was the biggest turd ever to live, refusing to sit still, wanting to climb all over the table (and under it), grabbing forks and knives and anything within reach, we eventually had to separate the two kids because he was bothering DD3 too much so she went to sit with MIL, FIL of course thinks that Matt and I are the worst parents to walk the earth for this behavior because in his day children simply did NOT behave as... well.. children... So it was that moment that I decided to pull out the big guns. The fidget toys. We're not big on technology/tablets so the idea of giving him our phones or something never really occurred to me but I had bought a pack of tiny little fidget toys on Amazon and had them packed in my Minnie bag for just such occasions. And thankfully to an extent, it worked. It at least kept him semi-occupied so we could eat in relative peace. I decided after all that I deserved a cocktail so I ordered the Vodka Gimlet, Matt ordered a local IPA (not sure on the name). The gimlet was a bit tart (like sweet & sour mix tart) but very refreshing. For lunch, I ordered French onion soup & the wedge salad. Matt had ordered a steak that was not on the lunch menu (seriously what steakhouse doesn't offer steak during lunch?!), and MIL & FIL shared a turkey club sandwich. The portions were HUGE! I was not expecting this- I ordered two appetizers and didn't finish either of them, my in laws struggled to eat their shared sandwich. The kids lunch (they shared chicken tenders with parmesan fries & broccoli) basically went untouched, what a waste. We couldn't take any of it with us since we were headed back to MK. What a bummer! I hate wasting food, but I know I would have been miserable if I forced myself to finish my food so we left a lot of it behind.

By this point it was 2:30pm and neither kid had napped and IT. WAS. SHOWING. They were so crabby & unruly and Matt and I were just feeling like failures. Our kids are good kids, and even though I should know by now to not care about what other people think, it bothers me when people judge us when our kids are acting like kids. To make matters worse, we overheard people coming in to the Contemporary mentioning a storm coming so I had Matt check the radar... and sure enough a big storm was coming probably within the next hour. Matt is a bit of a weather nerd (I have been known to refer to him as WeatherMatt.. get it.. like weather man, but his name is Matt... you get it) so before you hit me with "Oh Bethany, don't you know it rains EVERY day in Florida in the rainy season? It will be done raining in an hour", yes I do know all of that. But I also trust Matt and his weather tracking skills and when he says this is not just some passing rainclouds, I listen. Also, it was precisely that moment that we realized.... Kingdom Strollers had forgotten our stroller's rain cover!!!!!!!!!!!! I quickly emailed them and they responded within the hour apologizing and saying that they would again have someone drop it off at our hotel lobby in the next 30-40 minutes.... not very helpful since we were at Magic Kingdom, but hey what can you do. We sat in the lobby of the Contemporary hemming and hawing for the next 10 minutes when I made the executive decision that we would head back to MK. It's only 2:45 and we have a whole day ahead of us! Matt & I had our heavy duty ponchos (more like knee-length rain jackets), and we could take refuge somewhere inside on Main Street and wait it out. As we headed to the 4th floor of the Contemporary, we were greeted by security and metal detectors. We did not realize the level of security we had to go through to get back on the monorail from the Contemporary, but I suppose it makes sense since you are bypassing the security of the TTC. It was a nightmare since everyone was full & tired and crabby, plus the level of disorganization the stroller was in made it 10x worse. While on the monorail back to MK, we discovered it makes 3+ stops (this surprised us since the trip from MK > Contemporary we had no stops), but this actually worked out for the best since the quiet car and the soothing back and forth motion of the monorail eventually put both kids to sleep in the stroller. As soon as we debarked the monorail, we noticed it was raining. We hung out in the station before going down the big ramp and quickly dug out our ponchos and switched from our tennis shoes to our sandals. FIL's poncho (they had the traditional plastic kind) was large enough to cover both the power portion on the front of the scooter as well as our backpacks hanging off the back.

I could tell I was the only one who wanted to go back to the park, even Matt I think was wanting to call it a day. In the walk from the monorail station to the tapstiles to enter the park, we somehow got separated from MIL & FIL (a common theme, you can see). Matt & I scanned in, and I had to carefully pry DD3's Magic Band off her sleeping wrist) to scan her in as well. We got through and waited for the in laws under a tree before entering the park. FIL had issues figuring out how to use his Magic Band throughout the entire trip (he tried to scan in using his watch, for instance) and it was taking them a while to get through. Matt eventually left me & the kids to go investigate what was going on and he said that his dad was yelling at his mom (Matt was mortified), so tensions were definitely high. Plus it was thundering and lightning, and even though I told them that Disney World has lightning rods throughout the park, MIL still said "I'm not going in there if there's any lightning" and then made comments how "just last week there were 8 people under a tree and it was struck by lightning and 7 of them died" ........... while we are standing under the tree. At that moment I decided to call it. Everyone would have followed me wherever I took them, but I knew I was the only one who wanted to go in. So we called it a day, and despite literally just scanning in minutes ago, we exited the park. Got back on the monorail and headed to the parking lot. It was coming down pretty hard for the rest of the night so I don't necessarily regret the decision, just a huge bummer since it was our first park day and we barely got anything done. To recap, we rode: Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, the Carousel, Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Little Mermaid. The haircuts & our lunch ADR ate up some park time too, and the racing around and everything just made it feel like not a good day.

As we were driving back to the resort, I explained to the others my dilemma about how we didn't get much done and how our only remaining MK day was a MNSSHP day so it was already going to be shortened and how I really felt like we were robbing the kids of the one park that is most suited for them. I told them I kind of felt like switching our reservation for the next day from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom. Everyone agreed (not that anyone would have disagreed with me since I was the sole planner and no one knew anything else). I was sad to miss Animal Kingdom this trip, but I knew we needed more time in Magic Kingdom. So I switched our reservations for the next day, thankfully there was Magic Kingdom availability.

We returned to the resort and it took Matt & I 3 trips, in the rain, to get everything from the car to the hotel room. We were all soaked and cold and crabby. Eventually Matt & I got a couple beers in us (thankfully we included some Yuengling in our Walmart order!) and we sat on the balcony while the kids played with a bubble wand I had brought from home (an Amazon one, nothing fancy). It had broken in transit and I decided not to drag it to the parks the rest of the trip so this rainy afternoon seemed like a great time to bust it out. They had a blast in it and it put the four of us at least in a better mood.

Overall the day was not at all how I envisioned our first day to go, and combined with the stress of our arrival day the day before & the obvious continued tension between us & my in laws... we were not off to a great start to our trip! But we took advantage of the downtime and caught up on some sleep with an early bedtime- we were all in bed by 8:30! Before crawling in bed though, I condensed everything and WAAAAAY cut down on the amount of things we'd bring to the parks the next day- something I think everyone was happy about!

TOTAL STEPS: 13,362.

Up next: Park Day 2- Animal Kingdom Magic Kingdom, take 2!

 

[PadmeAmidala]

Really enjoying the report! Unfortunate complications but that's reality, hope the next couple of days are better. But the start with the in-laws not being able to find the airport! I'm sure you'll laugh about it later lol

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi all,

Trip report can be found here:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...-happened-september-2022-trip-report.3897181/